A wake-up call for you people planning to go to Mozambique for hunting

Royal27 said:

The proper word is "trinket."

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I'm starting to sound like you regarding trophies and hunting.

Wheels said:

I'm starting to sound like you regarding trophies and hunting.

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Just glad I could actually teach you something.

I'm looking at Caprivi for 2021. Trying to figure out if 1) bring a buffalo and lechwe trophy home or 2) pay to have someone video it and have that memory instead. Part of me still wants the trinket, but having the video would be way cool. We'll see how the market does over the next 6 months...maybe the trinket and video?

BRICKBURN said:

I made this same assumption about trophy processing in Botswana. I did not ask the questions beforehand and the entire party was literally held hostage.
The proposed costs were so outrageous that the trophies were nearly abandoned. It took over a year to sort out the extortion with the help of the Outfitter.

I did ask the questions before Mozambique so I knew what I was in for.

More remote, less developed, smaller market =

Just gotta hate the surprise.

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Can you elaborate? Did they just quote you a crazy amount because you didnt have it quoted before the trip and they figured they could charge whatever? What questions should someone ask beforehand to avoid such situations?

I definitely want to hunt one of these places one day and appreciate any advice to smooth out the learning curve

This post has brought up some valid concerns and some good "take aways" for anyone hunting anywhere internationally, not just Africa or the specific country of Mozambique.

If you know the species you're probably taking, locate a dip & pack company/taxidermist that your outfitter recommends. Get a " ball park" quote for everything required to get your trophies prepared, documents arranged and approved, and crated. Once all of that is done you will need to settle up with the dip & pack/ taxidermist before a International shipping/export company takes over. They will charge you to get your crated trophies to your country of origin. Be aware there are options here. Air freight, by sea, etc. There will be cost once they arrive for dealing with, in the US, for customs clearance. You can handle this part yourself but I don't recommend it. I've done it! The longer it takes to clear customs, the more it will cost as they charge a daily rate until it clears. Depending on the your distance to the approved Port, there will be overland shipping charges to get the trophies to you or your taxidermist. If you're close enough, you could pick them up yourself or have your taxidermist do that.

Now on to the Mozambique issue. First off, all trophies must ship to SA prior to shipping to the US. I know, I didn't make the rules. I honestly don't know what happens with trophies in say, Zambia or Tanzania. Bottom line, there will be additional charges for trophies taken in Mozambique above and beyond those taken in SA. How much depends on different variables, # of trophies, CITIES or not, weight, example hippo hide, etc.

That said, Grant and Mashambanzou Safaris has entered into an agreement with Life-Form Taxidermy to handle getting all of our clients trophies cleared in Mozambique and shipped to SA. Life-Form has opened an office in the capital of Mozambique, Maputo, to handle this for us. The pluses will be reduced cost and shorter time frame of getting trophies home to our clients. This is our first year, but so far, things are working as anticipated. This in no way, obligated our clients to use Life-Form for anything other than preparing the trophies for shipment to SA then on to the exporter.

What country you chose to hunt is a very personal decision. Wild, free range Africa is more expensive due to logistics needed to give comforts to clients, maintaining poaching patrols, fuel cost, etc, etc, etc. Imagine this, we are managing approx 4 million acres.

If we all do our homework in the planning stages, there should be minimal surprises.

Can someone explain why the cargo has to go to RSA for shipment, when Turkish and Qatar fly out of there? And I know Turkish flys hunting cargo.